Life on Mars: My 80th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger (And it is my first blog since the Black Knights of Auckland FC have won the A-League for the first time ever as they became the first New Zealand club in history to win the Trans-Tasman football (Soccer) club competition (And there are 12 competing from the men's comp, such as 10 from Australia & both from New Zealand such as the aforementioned AFC (Whose defence of the title is in jeopardy as the A-League had issued a war on the salary cap that had been implemented at a limit of AU $3 million being imposed as part of its loophole changes coming into effect starting next season which is 2026-27, according to most reports where they think that the Black Knights had spent twice the amount as the Nix did before that certain loophole change had now been introduced), & the Wellington Phoenix (Who I'm a fan of when they reached the playoffs back in 2010 where 24,278 fans attended the game that the Phoenix won on penalties against Perth Glory, then 32,792 people turned up at Wellington Regional Stadium to witness them smashing the Newcastle Jets in the minor semi-final, even before they fell short to the eventual champions Sydney FC involving their player Steve Corica (Future Auckland FC (Who is the 3rd New Zealand club to compete in the A-League after the New Zealand Knights (Founded as remnants of the Football Kingz in the defunct NSL who competed in the first 2 seasons before disbanding in 2006-07), then the Wellington Phoenix (Their debut season was in 2007-08 (And has been there since) compared to AFC who had their first season in 2024-25) coach) in the preliminary final in Sydney, then the World Cup arrived where the All Whites didn't advance through to the round of 16 despite ending our campaign unbeaten in all 3 draws against Slovakia first, then the defending champions at the time of Italy, & Paraguay as New Zealand was the only team that had never lost a match throughout the whole tournament (And 16 years later, we have waited for this as we are in a World Cup in North America, for only the 3rd time since our debut in 1982 (And our first since the aforementioned 2010 one), & our upcoming matches will be against Iran in LA, then both Egypt & Belgium in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada), but first in gaming that the EA Sports Rugby game on the PlayStation 2, has become one of my fave PS2 games therefore taking over from Star Wars Battlefront II (2005), but I clocked the game 3 times such as completing both the Tri Nations (A competition involving the big 3 Southern Hemisphere teams of Australia, New Zealand, & South Africa that they must play each other 2 times with the side with the most wins is the champion) & World Championship (A global event which all 20 teams compete from pool matches to a knockout stage with one main goal is to win the prestigious global rugby tournament in order to become champions of the world) as the All Blacks (My favourite international rugby team to root for along with the Hurricanes in Super Rugby Pacific & Whanganui in the Heartland Championship), & the VI Nations (A European tournament that features the 6 major Euro teams competing such as England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, & Wales) as the Scots because of our family roots over there that is why the reason I wanted to play as Scotland out of the other 5 like the English, the French, the Irish, the Italians, & the Welsh for example + There are 23 venues in the game (5 from France (Beziers, Bordeaux (Stade Chaban Delmas), Lens (Stade Bollaert-Delelis), Paris (Stade de France) & Toulouse (Stadium de Toulouse), then 4 from England (Bristol, Huddersfield, Leicester & London (Allianz Stadium Twickenham), & 3 each from Ireland (Belfast, Dublin (The old Lansdowne Road before it became Aviva Stadium where it was renovated) & Limerick), Scotland (Glasgow (Hampden Park), Murrayfield (Edinburgh), Galashiels) & Wales (Cardiff (Millennium Stadium), Llanelli & Wrexham), then there's both from Australia (Melbourne (Docklands Stadium) & Sydney (Stadium Australia), & 1 each from Italy (Rome (Stadio Flaminio), New Zealand (Auckland (Eden Park) & South Africa (Joburg (Ellis Park).

And secondly in Formula One that Italian driver Kimi Antonelli has continued to assert his dominance of winning 4 in a row in Canada (His winning streak began in China where he became the 2nd youngest driver to win a Grand Prix, followed by Japan prior to the 5 week break when both the Bahrain & Saudi Arabian Grands Prix had to be called off as a result of America's invasion of Iran (In which was colloquially known as that dreadful American leader's war), as well as Miami where F1 was back at last when the 35 day break had been expired, & most recently, in Canada), therefore he remains as the world championship leader (2nd place went to Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton (His best result of the new season) who just had to beat Max Verstappen who finished on the podium in the dying moments of the race, but Antonelli's Mercedes teammate of Britain's George Russell whose chances of winning in Canada, ended in heartbreak as he gets a DNF mid-race when Kimi capitalised the situation being unfolded at that moment) following the Canadian Grand Prix (Which was held following the Indy 500), but Italy hasn't produced a world champion since the late Alberto Ascari in 1953 when he secured back to back world championships with Antonelli seeking to become the 3rd if he becomes the new world champion after both the late Ascari & the late Doctor Farina, but it is a long way to go with 17 races left in the calendar with the next one being held in Monaco at the Monaco GP scheduled for the 5th to the 7th of June (And I expect big, massive upgrades from McLaren who are attempting to beat Mercedes, at one of McLaren's most favourable circuits at the Circuit de Monaco, in their bid of defending their constructors crown, therefore assisting Lando Norris's chances of successfully going back to back in terms of the world drivers championship fight (And Norris is 4th in the championship behind Monaco's Charles Leclerc (Who goes into his emotional homecoming full of confidence) in the Ferrari), & if Lando wins the Monaco Grand Prix, his aspirations of becoming the world champion again, could well be in truly, back on track).

And thirdly that Dad will be heading to Christchurch on May 30th to pick up his new camper van meaning that he'll have to head down there to get one by catching a flight to Christchurch to acquire the new camper van first, then stay in Picton for the night before a day later of catching a ferry on the Inter Islander on the way home to Whanganui in time on May 31st a day before we head to Caroline's for Raewyn's daughter's birthday lunch there due at 11:30 pm during King's birthday on June 1st which is 6 days out until I hit the big 35 for my 35th birthday on June 7th at Thai Villa for lunch.

And lastly in the rugby as the Crusaders (Who remain undefeated at their fortress of Te Kaha Stadium at 4 & 0 (First the New South Wales Waratahs during Super Round, then the Blues, as well as the Chiefs, & recently the Hurricanes) with a San Antonio Spurs inspired performance that saw them led by 'Wemby' of Victor Wembanyama (The Antoine Dupont & Kylian Mbappe of French basketball who will be in his first final, for which San Antonio will be the host of the first 2 games of the NBA finals) against the Oklahoma City Thunder (Whose reign as the NBA champions had ended after defeat in the 7th & deciding game meaning that there has to be the best of 7 first to 4, in order that they're can only be one clear winner, much more like the super over in cricket (T20 & ODI only during the knockouts of the men's ODI Cricket World Cup), & the penalty shootout in football (Soccer) during the knockout stages of a major tournament, especially both the Euros, & the World Cup), as well as in league like State of Origin, & in rugby where there is a 3 match test series) advance through to the NBA finals against the New York Knicks in a chance to claim the NBA championship for the first time since 2013-14 where it had the likes of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, & Kawhi Leonard back then when they last triumphed) & the Chiefs recorded dominant wins over the Hurricanes (Who had to rest key players for the clash at Te Kaha Stadium in Christchurch) & the Blues (Who'll have to travel to Christchurch against the Crusaders in the qualifying finals following defeat against the Chiefs who too rested those big guns for the clash at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, allowing Wallace Sititi to take over the captain or skipper's armband for that occasion) respectively, but Moana Pasifika sign off Super Rugby Pacific with a boil over win one last time in what would be their final outing in the competition, against the Brumbies (Who'll go to Wellington to take on the Canes during the 1st round of the playoff phase that is the qualifying finals) in Canberra, which means that Moana had been given the axe since they're not going to compete next year because they ran out of money to continue operating (And it was dogged by a 20 minute send off against Faletoi Peni after a second sin bin offence for shockingly taken Andy Muirhead out of commission with a dangerous tackle deemed to be a cheap shot & a cowardly act (Is there a high shot? Is there an impact above the shoulder? Now, Peni did what? This is going to give us, a bit more of the clue. He did something? He certainly did something. Now what happens, he'd seen some more. Well, the pictures tell the story. He leaves, Super Rugby Pacific, in disgrace. And he leaves his team in big trouble. Moana down to 14 players. And the chances of leaving the competition with a win, has an unsavoury moment there. But that will make the headlines of the result I feel. It's a sending off for the high shot, Faletoi Peni can hardly believe it. Faletoi Peni, has been shown the send off offence. Well, this is the man, who that day, has been tipped to play, for this game to start in the midfield, in order to make the difference, in a game, that he had to get through, without blemish, he's got himself red carded, after 62 minutes, it is a remarkable start. It's a send off, second sin bin for Faletoi Peni. Unacceptable tackle. Sent off) which was shades of the Kalyn Ponga incident where he deliberately, but intentionally taken Tolu Koula out with a no arms tackle straight to the head during Origin I in Sydney between New South Wales Blues, & the Queensland Maroons (And 'KP' just escaped with a ban as he got fined 23% of his match fee following the incident that landed him in hot water, in which the referee had ejected him for a terrorist like hostile act such as a high shot, as well as impact above the shoulder for that was volatile (Another word that I also getting intolerant with along with tyrant as well throughout), but Moana have managed to overcome the send off therefore bidding farewell to the Super Rugby Pacific competition before possibly joining MLR as a team based in Hawaii).

And here are the list of games coming up as the Super Rugby Pacific competition heads into the qualifying finals:

Hurricanes Vs ACT Brumbies: Hnry Stadium, Wellington (The most recent meeting between the two was during Super Round in Christchurch at round 11 on ANZAC Day, where Fehi Fineanganofo who lit up of scoring an impressive 4 tries, compared to Josh Moorby who would gone on to score a double)

Chiefs Vs Queensland Reds: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (The last time both of these sides met was in round 13 of the competition where the Chiefs won in that controversial match which was blighted by a dreadful but shocking refereeing performance from Marcus Playle who never refereed a game of Super Rugby Pacific again following the match)

& Crusaders Vs Blues: Te Kaha Stadium, Christchurch (Their last meeting between the two was in round 13 where the Crusaders were overwhelmingly dominant against the Blues who had to lose Dalton Papali'i through injury)

So that is my 728th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 80th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Let's Dance: My 79th Blog of the year 2026 (AKA Auckland FC triumph in the A-League competition)

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in Super Rugby Pacific as the Crusaders (Who announced that their coach Rob Penney is leaving at the end of this season as he prepares for his retirement from coaching, allowing Scott Hansen to take over from him starting next year, but will have the services of star man Richie Mo'unga back from Japan next season) defeat the Chiefs at their fortress of Te Kaha Stadium in Christchurch thanks to a winning 50/22 from the Crusaders captain himself, David Havili before the red & blacks even pounced of scoring that winning try (And I watched that Super Rugby match from the archives back in 2012 between the 2 sides at McLean Park in Napier on the 21st & 22nd of May where the Chiefs had a close win over the Crusaders) by Havili himself, then Moana Pasifika fall short in their last home game at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland in heartbreaking fashion against the Queensland Reds whose chances of reaching the playoffs are still alive after that decisive try (And Moana are due to play their last ever Super Rugby Pacific game against the Brumbies in Canberra before being defunct in which they have run out of money to keep them going, therefore the competition next year, will be down to 10 teams (5 from New Zealand, 4 from Australia & only 1 from Fiji), then a conversion to put them in front as they had to cling on until the end of the game, while the Hurricanes had taken victory against the Highlanders (Who will also have Shannon Frizell return from Japan next season as part of his ambitions of making the AB's squad just like Mo'unga, in next year's men's Rugby World Cup in Australia in an effort to topple the Springboks, & their chance of becoming the first side to complete a hat-trick of winning 3 men's RWC's in a row) whose season is over at Hnry Stadium in Wellington, even though with the Canes remain on top of the table going into the final round of the regular season against the Crusaders (Who will be seeking to leapfrog the Blues of hosting a home qualifying final if they win so that is the equation) in Christchurch.

And here are the list of matches coming up as the Super Rugby Pacific competition heads into the final round of the season in round 16:

Crusaders Vs Hurricanes: Te Kaha Stadium, Christchurch

Queensland Reds Vs Fijian Drua: Lang Park, Brisbane

ACT Brumbies Vs Moana Pasifika: Canberra Stadium, Canberra

Chiefs Vs Blues: Waikato Stadium, Waikato

& Western Force Vs New South Wales Waratahs: Perth Rectangular Stadium, Perth

Bye: Highlanders

And secondly in the motor racing department such as the Indy 500 where Felix Rosenqvist (Who became a dad when his baby daughter was born 3 weeks in the lead-up to the event) becomes the 3rd different Swedish driver after both Kenny Brack way back in 1999, & Marcus Ericsson in 2022 who was the last Swede to do so before Rosenqvist, to win the Indianapolis 500 where he edged Team Penske's David Malukas (The Lithuanian American who comes from Chicago, Illinois) who thought that he was going to win, until he got beaten by 'Fro' in one of the closest finishes in Indy 500 history (And there was 1992 where American Al 'Little Al/Al Jr' Unser Jr had to beat Canadian Scott Goodyear for the win which was one of the most infamous narrow margins ever) with a close victory in 'The Greatest Spectacle of Racing' during the final dramatic lap of the 200-lap race, as Felix had gone from 3rd, to 1st in a 1-lap shootout that decided IndyCar's premier pinnacle event, meaning that the Borg-Warner trophy is heading to Sweden for the first time since 2022 where Ericsson triumphed (That's a year before American Josef Newgarden won in 2023, then a year later in the year before, & Alex Palou last year) thus remaining the success of the Indy 500 by European drivers (The trophy headed to Spain last year (2025) when Palou also triumphed).

And thirdly news I have not followed since I last watched CNN on May 16th that there has been a shooting incident near the White House (Which will gear up hosting UFC Freedom 250 on the South lawn of the most heavily guarded building in the world (Compared to the Prime Minister of New Zealand's official residence at Premier House in Wellington where it is the most guarded building of our country, while the most secure ballroom is under construction might have been considered dear to build as it costs millions of it at between US $200 million to US $400 million) due on the 14th of June this year to mark the birthday of that dreadful American leader, & to celebrate a double half century of US independence where fights expected to take place, such as 'Sugar' Sean O'Malley is fighting against Aiemann Zahabi in the Bantamweight division, then Brazilian Alex Pereira taking on Frenchman Ciryl Gane in the co-main as part of the heavyweight division, & Georgia's Ilia Topuria is facing against Justin Gaethje in the main event also as part of the lightweight division in front of 5,000 people (And there will be an IndyCar race in the streets of Washington D.C. (One of the new street circuits in the calendar along with the already held Arlington, & Markham in Ontario, Canada) with free admission for all motor racing fans about to take place which is scheduled on August 23rd by the order of the US leader) where a 21 year old African American gunman who was armed not only with a semi-automatic high powered AR-15 rifle had been shot dead by the president's bodyguards who opened fire towards him (Unlike that this year's Football (Soccer) men's World Cup will be in fact, the most controversial ever just exactly like in both Russia 2018, & Qatar 2022 as the other controversies prior to that where hotel prices are going to be high (And most fans will be waiting for 2030 in Spain, Portugal & Morocco so that they can save their money since they elected to boycott the US, & avoid travelling there as fuel jet prices are getting expensive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war for that will be permanent), then ticket prices including the final which will be skyrocketed, as well as an ICE (Which stands for Immigration Customs Enforcement (The US leader's so called goon squad) that are the modern day version of nationalist Germany's Gestapo (For which I'm showing disdain towards them) in that it is a political legislation enforcement force that tracks down any dissidents who blatantly show criticism towards that late German leader) presence throughout the whole tournament (Along with law enforcement officers who are out there to guard any American city during the World Cup since there is always fully heightened security presence everywhere) where they'll track down foreign troublemakers who cause anger, & hostility towards the American people to avoid getting offended by them thinking that the foreigners are being suspicious, & intolerant by being malicious, with social media checks being in place similar to background checks (And they can't have Haitian, & Iranian people around there in the United States of America due to a full travel crackdown imposed by the US government, while the Cote D'Ivorian, & Senegalese people are under a semi travel clampdown also imposed by the American government), & the legislations on anti-dreadful American leader (For which Pops told me about it that the current US President is a total disaster) voices have already been tightened (And they could be shown the ejection (AKA the red card/send off) if they do that, such as terms behind bars as political prisoners) meaning that there is a war on disrespecting the President of the United States (Who I label as a despicable human being, but my life has been ruined by extreme far-right conservative politics being on the rise from the ashes that I hate now (Oh god! But I'm an outspoken critic of extreme far-left liberal politics, mainly because I am a liberal type of person (And I'm an antifa (Which stands for anti-fascist) anyway), such as many countries that are associated with right wing beliefs, like the United States have already prohibited immigration, while other countries are attempting to do so of imposing a war on immigrants such as the UK (But I have been reading the world news section of the Whanganui Chronicle lately like on May 28th not only that I'm politically charged about the situation happening around the globe (And at least we're safe here in our country, according to the comment from Dad that I actually remember on Messenger on the 28th of May), such as the UK to follow Australia's lead of imposing a crack down on social media towards children as they passed a new law according to the UK PM of Sir Keir Starmer to avoid getting kids being harmed about dreadful, shocking, but horrendous content (Like distressing images of both that dreadful invasion since 2022, & in Iran, as well as fascist related stuff like that terrible US leader for example) that they took their own lives with grieving parents are being concerned, & worried towards it thinking that it's suspicious conduct that the legislations of children accessing to social media (That has deemed to be overzealous, even with other countries like Sweden (Where they are trying to introduce it by the 1st of January in the year after), Brazil, & Indonesia are following suit recently after such measures to introduce an age restriction system regime of going on social media, thinking that it's totalitarian stuff, absolute totalitarian stuff), are exactly going to be tightened for which I label it as a political inspired move), Australia, France, Germany (Although their chancellor Frederich Merz is also concerned that his 3 kids, & other young Germans are avoiding of residing in the United States, thinking that it's hostile over there as a result of the climate related to politics that has deemed to be an outcast associated with political polarisation, & its culture wars), & Japan (Italy under Georgia Meloni who imposed a clampdown on deepfake stuff, as well as Austria are under conservative rule) since calls from the far-right that is arisen from their country, in the aftermath of a Japanese teacher got killed (Murdered) by a foreigner (Known as Gaikokujin over there), & their families, as well as their vice president alone along with their families, & their government, in an egregious way as well therefore that someone will be sent to their home country if they do that (Also exactly unlike the Broadcasting Standards Authority are being abolished in favour of self-regulating after it referred to a controversial clash in New Zealand during late last year, & this year, where the BSA tried to regulate online podcasts, as the description of Soviet-era Stasi was used by political figures to criticise what they saw as overreach, & state censorship as in late last year, the BSA indicated it had the power to mandate of subjecting as well as summoning to a review by viewer complaints regarding content on the independent, online digital media outlet the Platform, in response to the Broadcasting Standards Authority's actions, politicians like NZ First leader Winston Peters, & commentators heavily criticized the regulator, as Peters compared the BSA's regulatory moves into the digital space to a "Soviet-era Stasi" and "blatant overreach", meanwhile the underlying tension stemmed from the outdated Broadcasting Act 1989 which the BSA argued it had to interpret for modern media despite lacking clear digital jurisdiction, & following that and other digital jurisdiction disputes, the Government confirmed it will scrap the Broadcasting Standards Authority entirely in favor of media self-regulation (And there is another word along with autocracy, & propaganda that I can't stand anymore, & that is fascism (And regime, as well as totalitarianism too when they released the trailer of the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (I have already got it via pre-order for which evokes memories of the war in Iran, compared to Call of Duty: Black Ops that has drawn parallels to that dreadful invasion since 2022, & Battlefield 6 that is reminiscent to the Gaza conflict that they used to have) about the potential invasion of South Korea by those evil but dastardly, North Korean troops under that country's new leader which will be the antagonist of the game, but there was a line said by one of the North Korean military troops that "They must find the defector, they will burn that village to the ground if they have to" for which the trailer for the game due for release in October this year that sparked outrage about a potential real world war between the 2 countries, & also another word that I extremely hate which is segregation just like South Africa's racial segregation policies during apartheid that lasted from 1948, until a political prisoner named the late Nelson Mandela was released way back in 1990, 2 years before the South Africans had admitted into international sport once again also way back in 1992 as a result of a political change (That's 2 years before Mandela was elected the first African origin president) & another one that I really hate is terrorism just like the 3 boroughs have been shut down in Grand Theft Auto IV due to a terrorist threat that you can't just head into that area which results cops being alerted with an instant wanted level of 4 stars until it has been unlocked (Like Alderney after the mission 3 Leaf Clover), & war as well because of that shocking conflict since 2022 & the Iran war still going at the moment that is bad at the moment along with the US becoming an autocratic country as Dad told me that I wrote down the 8 words that I hate now, like autocracy, propaganda, fascism, regime, totalitarianism, segregation, terrorism, & war) with Liberty City's bridges are barricaded by legislation enforcement officers because of that, damn terrorists!) because of the US President's influence with that late German leader, & that America First (Who I haven't mentioned before that when it was sponsored at a NHL game, even as a political statement in which the America First stuff thing is because of sweeping immigration reforms as well as they imposed a war on freedom of speech that everything like modern day fascism which had not been seen since the end of World War II (And fascism are being on the rise again during modern times since last year when that dreadful American leader (Who is influenced by that late German leader who massacred millions of people, while the US President who always said mean things according to the meme that I saw on Google image search) took office once again, dirty nationalist scum!) policy (And the Hungarian leader of Viktor Orban (Of the Conservative Party who had been the Prime Minister of Hungary since 12 years ago back in 2014 who had been associated with the country who started that shocking conflict since 2022, & the US leader) has been defeated in an election in Hungary recently as the new leader emerges with Peter Magyar (Of the Liberal Party) as the new PM, & with that Liberal party's election win that they'll provide support to Ukraine in their bid of winning against the country who started that horrendous war since 2022 (In which the United States are siding with that country, & their shocking invasion on Ukraine), while in Europe that there has been more confirmed cases of the hantavirus in both France, & the Netherlands where people such as hospital staff members are asked to self quarantine as medics are on the search for anyone of stamping out the spread (Just like the Ebola outbreak has struck in East Africa that they're trying to deal with recently when Aunty Tan alluded to me via email), meanwhile in Iran that the peace deal to end the war is on so that they can open the Strait of Hormuz again (For which is permanently shut down currently at the moment as there is a gas price hike being applied throughout regarding to inflation, especially in our country of New Zealand), but the Iranians aren't backing down of a certain truce, & of course in that dreadful invasion since 2022 where a large scale attack by the country who started it on Ukraine leaves 4 of them getting murdered, & dozens wounded on that occasion in one of that shocking conflict's biggest assaults on Kyiv, as they had been struck in a country who started that terrible war, & that missile assault, as a new wave on assaults escalates that dreadful invasion since 2022 that had counted as an assault related to terrorism for which I label that country who started that shocking conflict, & their military armed forces unit as a terrorist group (Similar to scenes from the Grand Theft Auto IV game where the mission Entourage is similar to the motorcade ambush scene taken from the 1994 movie, Clear & Present Danger where a VIP was cornered & under attack in an alleyway by a hostile militia armed with RPG's (Who I thought that was prohibited in the US following 9/11 when GTA IV took place during the events of 2008 back then according to one of the YouTube comments that I saw), so Niko had to act like CIA analyst Jack Ryan to guard the politician to safety by escorting him to City Hall, & there's one in To Live & Die in Alderney where there was a prolonged car chase sequence from the movie itself during a sting operation by the Feds of the FIB (Known as the Federal Investigation Bureau which serves as a fictional equivalent to the real life FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) which had to take place).

And finally in the football (Soccer) department that how good are Auckland FC? Well, they are the champions at last during their 2nd year of the A-League competition (Although they fell short to the eventual champions of Melbourne City during the 2nd leg of the semi when they were in their first year of the 2024-25 season) after a 1-0 win in the final over Sydney FC (Coached by former Socceroo Patrick Kisnorbo who took over from Ufuk Talay once he departed, & Kisnorbo is still winless against AFC since his takeover as Sydney FC coach) in front of a sell-out crowd of 28,000 at Go Media Stadium in one of the best domestic/club football matches that I've watched of all time because the players like Cam Howieson the goal scorer (He went to England on a professional contract in the last decade, but decided to return home in Auckland back in 2015 because of his disabled daughter who is always on a wheelchair so he decided to put family first (And he's got another daughter as well), & there was Dan Hall who was part of the success with the Central Coast Mariners twice when they won the competition in 2022-23, & 2023-24 before heading to AFC founded by American billionaire Bill Foley who owns English club AFC Bournemouth who returned to the Premier League (Which was won by Arsenal for the first time since their unbeaten season back in 2003-04 during the Arsene Wenger & Thierry Henry era), & an NHL team called the Vegas Golden Knights (And one of his sons attending the game as the Auckland FC faithful just witnessed a moment of history as the unthinkable was happened, not only because it was inevitable when the Black Knights became the first New Zealand club to win the A League competition, but Bill said that it would take 3 seasons to win their first title for AFC, well, that's 2 you owe me junior) who are in the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2022-23 (Where they'll be taking on the Carolina Hurricanes who ended Rejean's team that he supports (Well, me & Pops always support the Hurricanes in Super Rugby Pacific) of the Montreal Canadiens whose chances of claiming a Stanley Cup for Canada of breaking a 33 year drought, had ended meaning that the utter dominance of American teams winning the Stanley Cup, will extend for another season), just like the New York Knicks did in the National Basketball Association when they haven't been to the NBA finals since 1999), are a bunch of nobodies & relatively unknowns who just burst into the football/soccer scene where the footballing gods in New Zealand were finally able to smile (The best moment of the 2025-26 season was the final itself (I watched the whole game on the 24th of May, then the entirety of the 2nd half a day later, & the last 10 minutes of the final plus injury time (And if Auckland FC lost, I would've not watched it, but it is good that a New Zealand team won, & it was lucky just like if the White Ferns lost to South Africa in the women's T20 Cricket World Cup the year before, that I would not be watching it also, but we won instead according to the previous stories that I did on my blogs), while the 2nd best was Auckland FC putting themselves through to the final just to silence the Hindmarsh Stadium crowd with a 3-0 victory against Adelaide United during the 2nd leg just to be there on that occasion, while the 3rd best was the penalty shootout win against the defending champions at the time of Melbourne City also during the 2nd leg of the elimination final that sent them progressing to the semi against Adelaide United), meanwhile for Auckland FC (Who have 5 players that are in the All Whites squad such as the departing Jesse Randall, Francis de Vries, Michael Woud, Nando Pijnaker, & Callan Elliot for this year's World Cup tournament in North America, compared to the Wellington Phoenix of having 3 players such as Sarpreet Singh, Tim Payne, & Wynton's nephew, as well as club captain of Alex Rufer who is expected to become the 2nd Rufer to play in the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup scheduled for June to July this year) coach of former Sydney FC player & manager of Steve Corica celebrating his 5th title overall (He did it twice as a player in 2005-06 when Sydney FC first triumphed in the inaugural A-League season, & in 2009-10, then did it as a coach 3 times such as in both 2018-19, also then 2019-20 with Sydney FC, & 2025-26 with the Black Knights), & what a win for Auckland FC, especially the group of supporters called the Port who cheered them on throughout the entire campaign, especially the last 3 matches including the final, & what was my reaction like post match? Auckland FC have made history there on May 23rd, & man, was it so sweet. We've knocked the scum off (And in your life, have you ever seen anything like it! And it's going Black Knight, in 2025-26! For the first time ever, Auckland FC, is champion, of the A-League! What a night out at Go Media Stadium. Absolute ecstasy for Auckland FC! Agony, agony for Sydney FC! Auckland FC have won the A-League! By the barest of margins! By the barest of Margins! Me oh my, I have enjoyed that, yes boy! Pandemonium! Absolute scenes! That's it! We did it! Yeah baby, yeah!).

So that is my 727th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 79th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Sorrow: My 78th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that there was a tragic story way back in 1998 about star American comedian who appeared on the Simpsons, & Saturday Night Live (SNL) of the late Phil Hartman who got shot, & killed by his wife who turned on the firearm herself in Los Angeles, California as her friend showed up therefore calling the police thinking that there was a murder before officers arrived when they responded to a call when she believed that what appears to be trapped inside the closet (And she would've gone to jail for that crime that she committed if she was alive), while their kids had to be escorted out of their home by legislation enforcement officers who ruled it as a murder-suicide (And the whole entertainment world was in shock once it happened, it just had to be), just like that shocking Benoit incident which was worse in the US back in 2007 where the late famous wrestler Chris murdered both his wife Nancy & son Daniel, before ending his own life into matters in a sour note (Oh my word) when the WWE had announced their changes meaning that the Ruthless Aggression era (Which began also back in 2002 as it replaced the Attitude era), had become the PG (WWE Universe) era which lasted until 2014 where the Reality era began as when the World Wrestling Entertainment was changing its logo, therefore signalling a new era (And the WWE is currently into the Renaissance (Triple H) era that is still going since 2022).

And secondly that I was discussing to Pops before we headed to Thai Villa on the 17th of May (That is 3 weeks prior to my 35th birthday on June 7th (That's 2 days following Dad's June 5th & 3 days before Aunty Tan's on the 10th of June, & 4 weeks also prior to Pops on July 5th) about the rivalries of international rugby that New Zealand has ever faced on the international rugby field such as France first that we used to be formidable rivals with them not only we faced them in the men's Rugby World Cup final in both way back in 1987, & back in 2011, so too is Australia even though we took on them once at a men's RWC final before back in 2015, before South Africa since they dominated the last 2 men's Rugby World Cups in both 2019, & 2023, has taken over as by far, our main formidable rival in world rugby, then there's England & Ireland then as our other ones (And the New Zealand-South Africa rivalry in rugby is similar to Argentina against Brazil in football (Soccer), as well as India & Pakistan as their main rivalry in cricket, & Australia Vs England also in cricket as the other rivalry), but what about our women? Because of the Black Ferns main rival would be England, then Australia as our other rival, & do not forget Canada as well since they beat us in the semi last year at the women's RWC.

And thirdly that I was emailing to Aunty Tan on May 17th about me requesting my 2 birthday presents that I'm getting (Such as the F1 Career Challenge, & Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith PlayStation 2 games that are PAL versions of it), then me watching CNN twice on the 16th of May about everything is going on around the world at the moment (And Dad is always into ChatGPT at the moment, because I'm mainly into Google), then about me & Pops were heading to Thai Villa for dinner (Originally we were going to go there for dinner on the 15th of May, but it had got fully booked, so we went to Caroline's instead) in which we did where I had satay sauce stir fried with chicken & me not watching the ice hockey lately that I was mainly tuning into watching the rugby instead with Pops.

And lastly the latest in Super Rugby Pacific such as the Chiefs (Who had Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi bagging in for his 2 tries that he scored in the game, but it was Wallace Sititi who had been standout player of the game for his outstanding performance) gave the Highlanders a pounding in Hamilton when they won at least 30 points (Including a sin bin from Argentinian Tomas Lavanini that cost the Highlanders dearly that resulted in a turning point that the Chiefs capitalised when they were on a points scoring spree until the sin binning offence had been expired) which was marred by the injuries to Damian McKenzie for the Chiefs (Well, the extent of the injury of McKenzie could be long term, just like in 2019 that he got injured in a match against the Blues that took him out of the men's Rugby World Cup in that year, therefore ending his chances of playing in that certain tournament, & is expected to miss the encounter against the defending Super Rugby Pacific champions of the Crusaders in Christchurch), & Caleb Tangitau for the Highlanders (Although he could be out of contention of making the All Blacks with a serious injury like that, similar to McKenzie meaning that his chances of making the All Blacks is over as he is ruled out for the remainder of the season), a day before the Hurricanes remain on top of the table after that emphatic win over the Blues (Who lost Caleb Clarke for what appears to be an injury not too serious after making that try saving tackle on reserve Hurricanes halfback Jordi Viljoen) in an entertaining but thrilling match (Up the Canes!).

And here are the next upcoming games that are coming up are scheduled for the weekend of the 22nd to 23rd of May as we're heading into the penultimate round of the Super Rugby Pacific competition (And there's the A-League football (Soccer) final scheduled on the 23rd of May between Auckland FC coached by former Sydney FC coach Steve Corica, & led by a Japanese import player of Hiroki Sakai (Formerly from Urawa Red Diamonds in the J-League comp who used to play abroad in both Germany & France, & was involved in 3 World Cups for his country of Japan back in 2014 (They didn't progress through to the knockouts as both Colombia & Greece were through), then also back in 2018 (Where they fell short against Belgium at the death when one of their players of Nacer Chadli had scored a match winning goal during stoppage time in one of the greatest comebacks in the tournament's history of all time since West Germany's encounter against England long ago in 1970 where a side had to win at least a match after being both goals down), & in 2022 (Where they also fell short against the Luka Modric led Croatia on penalties) who are into their first final, & the past A-League champions of Sydney FC in front of a sell-out crowd at Go Media Stadium in Auckland for which has a Football (Soccer) men's World Cup final feel, or vibe I should say towards it + the New Zealand Warriors are playing against St George-Illawarra Dragons in Kogarah in the league such as the NRL in round 12 of this year's season (On the same day as the A-League grand final, as well as in the rugby such as the Moana-Reds, as well as the Hurricanes-Highlanders, & the Force-Drua clashes) for which will the last before the State of Origin gets underway with New South Wales Blues looking to regain the crown against the defending holders of the Queensland Maroons on May 27th at Stadium Australia in Sydney (And there has been an update as the Warriors went on to win against the Dragons therefore setting up a top of the table clash against the Panthers at CommBank Stadium in Paramatta, Sydney during round 13 of the competition (And the Wahs have never lost since against the Cronulla Sutherland-Sharks at Endeavour Field in the southern Sydney suburb of Woolooware, New South Wales, for which was round 5 of this NRL Premiership season), but at what cost? Because of our key players suffering injuries in that game, like Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who ruptured an ACL in which the Warriors fans are holding their breath as he pulled up sore after tackling Hayden Buchanan & was forced from the field just 11 minutes into his return from a shoulder injury (His career could be over since he got injured again, but he's recently ruled out of the season (And possibly the League World Cup for Samoa) as he departs to join English Super League club of Wakefield Trinity Wildcats), then Eddie Ieremia-Toeava got KO'd following a terrible tackle involving teammate Wayde Egan on a Dragons player of Toby Couchman, & meanwhile that New South Wales had drawn first blood as they go 1-0 up in the series against Queensland during the season opener which was marred by the red card against Maroons fullback of Kalyn 'KP' Ponga for a no arms in the tackle to the head on Tolu Koula which was I label it as a flagrant foul that sparked a comeback for the Blues who were 20-0 down as the Maroons let their lead slip, but the magic moment as NSW were on the last tackle as Nathan Cleary kicked a high ball that James Tedesco caught it as he beat Hamiso 'The Hammer' Tabuai-Fidow who was beaten to the strike when Teddy pounced of scoring that certain try that was infamous when the scores were locked at 20-all with 90 seconds remaining before Cleary ran down the clock, until it was stopped with 5 seconds remaining, before he slotted that winning easy shot at goal right in front of the posts), well, as former Aussie cricketer Bill Lawry would say "It's all happening", & also the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the St Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on the weekend of 22nd to the 24th of May (Same weekend as the Indianapolis 500 mile race (And it's going to take place prior to the Grand Prix in Canada) happening with the reigning champion of Spain's Alex Palou who returns for the first time since his victory last year filled with drama, & there are 3 Kiwis that are involved in the Indy 500 such as both Scott's of Dixon (The winner from back in 2008 who only won it once) & McLaughlin, & Marcus Armstrong) where our own New Zealander racing in the RB Racing Bulls constructor of Liam Lawson who is in action (He had a dreadful race in Miami last time out which was unlucky in that he had to retire) against the 4 world champions (Current & former) on the grid this season of Fernando Alonso (Who currently drives for the unlucky Aston Martin outfit), Lewis Hamilton (Who is in his second season with Ferrari), Max Verstappen (Who competed in the 54th running of the Nürburgring 24 hours, & was the headline act that had drawn a sell out crowd for the first time in history (And multi-day tickets have been sold out long ago since) as he drives a Mercedes-AMG GT3 car along with Gerhard Berger's nephew Lucas Auer, Jean-Marc's son Jules Gounon, & Daniel Juncadella, while YouTubers Steve Alvarez Brown, & Jimmy Broadbent will drive a Porsche 911 Cup Car, & former Gran Turismo World Series champion Takuma Miyazono will in fact drive a Toyota Supra GT4 evo, as he prepares to make his real world debut along with Broadbent & Brown according to the report on sim racing focused website GTPlanet), & Lando Norris (Who is 4th in the championship during his defence of the title after McLaren made significant improvements, but was unable to keep pace towards the Mercedes-AMG cars) + a young Italian of Kimi Antonelli who still remains the world championship leader after 4 rounds of competition, but behind him in terms of the points fight is his Mercedes teammate who is the championship favourite of George Russell, & also there is day 1 of the French tennis Open at Roland-Garros in Paris, France, where American lady Coco Gauff (Whose idol was the Williams sisters where she grew up watching them on television), & Spanish gentleman Carlos Alcaraz (Who was the Laureus sportsman of the year) will be defending their titles respectively (While headlining the women will be world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka (The sportswoman of the year at the Laureus awards, while team of the year had gone to Paris St Germain for their historic but incredible UEFA Champions League run last season, as they became the first French club in history to win a major European football (Soccer) club comp), compared to the men where they have both Italian Jannik Sinner (Who lost to Alcaraz last year after winning the first 2 sets, in one of the infamous but greatest sporting comeback moments of all time, but since the year before that all men's grand slams had been dominated by both Carlos Alcaraz & Sinner (But the last before the Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner era (And there was the Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal rivalry when both of these tennis players who are now legends had dominated throughout 2004 in their first ever meeting between the two, until their retirements early in this decade when they teamed up with each other in doubles during the Laver Cup in 2022) was indeed Novak Djokovic in 2023 at the US Open where he won the men's title) & wily old Serbian veteran of Djokovic):

Crusaders Vs Chiefs

New South Wales Waratahs Vs ACT Brumbies

Moana Pasifika Vs Reds

Hurricanes Vs Highlanders

& Western Force Vs Fijian Drua

So that is my 726th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 78th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Sound & Vision: My 77th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that I was rewatching an old Super Rugby game from the archives between the Hurricanes & the Blues from back in 2007 (And there were players during that era, including Tana Umaga & Ma'a Nonu featuring for the Canes, while for the Blues they had Doug Howlett & Luke McAlister, but back then there was no goal line dropout, no 50-22, no brake foot legislation (In that Pops still cannot understand why even though he played club level rugby during the old days that the brake foot law did not apply way back then), as well as no Dupont legislation, & no escort runner loophole back in the day (And the dangerous tackles like head on head contact for example weren't strict for such measures like that then), in anticipation to Saturday's game as both sides square off against each other at Eden Park in Auckland during the 3rd to last round of this year's Super Rugby Pacific competition.

And secondly in football (Soccer) related news that the All Whites became the 3rd different country to name their 26 player squad for the World Cup according to our coach of Darren Bazeley as we brought on both survivors from back in 2010 in South Africa, such as our captain Chris Wood (The all-time leading goal scorer for our country who currently plays for Nottingham Forest) & English born Tommy Smith (Who plays in the lower leagues in England, & will not play any single minute of a game during the tournament), but the key inclusions in the team were Matt Garbett, Michael Boxall (Who was the stand in captain when Wood was out through injury), Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenic, Liberato Cacace, Kosta Barbarouses (A Greek Kiwi like Leo Bertos who plays for Western Sydney Wanderers), Ryan Thomas (Who plays for a Dutch club), Tyler Bindon (A teammate of Wood ironically at Nottingham Forest), Nando Pijnaker (An Auckland FC (Who is the first New Zealand men's club in history to play in the grand final (They came so close last season after losing to Melbourne City in the semi in just their inaugural season) after their historic 3-0 clean sheet win over Adelaide United in the 2nd leg just to silence the Hindmarsh Stadium crowd in just their 2nd year in the competition in that they'll seek to become the first New Zealand team in a bid to win the A-League Championship) player), Finn Surman, Ben Waine, Eli Just, Francis de Vries (Another one of the Auckland FC players), Jesse Randall (Also another one of the Auckland FC players who'll be heading to Dundee United in the Scottish Premier League next season), Lachlan Bayliss (A Newcastle Jets (Minor premiers this A-League season of 2025-26 who lost in the semi against Sydney FC with New Zealand set to host the A-League grand final for the very first time ever in Auckland between the Black Knights, & the aforementioned Sydney FC at Go Media Stadium in front of a sell out crowd of 28,000 people for which will be a World Cup final like atmosphere) player who was originally from Australia before declaring his allegiance to New Zealand throughout, mainly because of his dad who passed away back in 2018 being from there, & is the least experienced in the squad compared to Wood who is the most experienced player in the team with 88 international caps to his name), Michael Woud (A goalkeeper who plays for the Black Knights who is the 3rd choice goalkeeper in the All Whites side), Alex Paulsen (Who originally was the number 1 goalkeeper), Max Crocombe (Who is expected to be the first choice goalkeeper during the tournament), & Alex Rufer who follows in his famous uncle Wynton's footsteps way back in 1982 in Spain of playing in football/soccer's global showpiece event held in North America.

And thirdly in gaming that I now have all 5 PlayStation 2 rugby games made by EA Sports such as Rugby (That Dad bought it for me on Trade Me, but I had to pay the game as well as the postage & handling like I always do now), Rugby 2004, EA Sports Rugby 2005, EA Sports Rugby 06, & EA Sports Rugby 08 (And then they released Rugby Challenge 4 on the PS4 in 2020, followed by the ill-fated Rugby 25 that came out last year on also both the PS4 & PS5, & Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge 4 on the PS4 had to be released in contrast to the poor showing to the Rugby 25 game where the re-release of the game came out as a tribute to the late great New Zealand rugby player Jonah Lomu (And every team in the JLRC4 game is unlicensed except the late Lomu himself with Rugby 25 grabbing the rights to the national teams such as the All Blacks, the Springboks, the Red Roses men, Les Bleus rugby, the men in Green, the Wallabies, & others like Los Pumas, Scotland, Wales, the Azzurri rugby, the Flying Fijians, & the Brave Blossoms, as well as the Gallagher Prem & Super Rugby Pacific competitions to join Top 14, URC, MLR, & Pro D2 championships) so I can finally relive the glory days, but I managed to play Rugby where the PS2 version is similar to the PC port where there was gameplay where you have to use the directional buttons to move the player, then hold O for sprint, compared to Rugby 2004 & later where you have to move the player with the analog stick while holding down R2 results in a run (And I played as New Zealand against France once with a score line of 17 - 0 at Twickenham in where we should've won the semi way back in 1999, then Australia twice 40 - 0 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in a would be what if meeting of the 1999 final, & 41 - 0 at Stadium Australia in Sydney in the greatest test of the century back in 2000), but the commentators of that Rugby game was the late Bill McLaren (My fave rugby commentator back in the day, until Grant Nisbett took over for me since), & former England & New Zealand international of Hong Kong born Jamie Salmon.

And finally that everything has been going on in the moment on CNN (The far-left wing pro-liberal news channel that both Aunty Tan & Rejean usually watches for which is about stuff in the United States, & Canada, but we get the international version of it on Sky here in New Zealand) that I watched it twice on the 16th of May such as that shocking invasion since 2022 (Well, there were hardly mentions of it when I saw it on that day), then the Iran war with both countries at war such as the US & the Iranians who are trading gunfire at each other even though the Strait of Hormuz remains closed permanently, as well as news relating to that dreadful American leader (Who met that Chinese leader in Beijing recently about the US who could potentially cut ties with Taiwan if China invades them, as well as tariffs as well that sparked a trade war, & probably easing the US sanctions against Chinese companies who are outraged at each other between them in that infamous meeting that did not go to well), & the hantavirus stuff in which people are urged to self isolate at home once they get it, then try to stay away from people from getting close contact, as well as avoiding travel in many areas, & masks will be required to wear if necessary such as in enclosed spaces (And there had been 10 confirmed cases so far of the Andes virus, because it was originally 11, but one of them tested negative due to an inconclusive reading, so they've got to be far more aware of catching it in order to aid them of preventing the spread (And there was a Kiwi who went on that MV Hondius ship who is in Australia under quarantine measures at the moment when Dad told me that before on May 17th).

So that is my 725th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 77th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Burden In My Hand: My 76th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first the latest in the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup that Mexican football (Soccer) fans who are keen to see the World Cup game at a stadium will likely to miss out as the ticket prices to the upcoming games are set to be high (With co-hosts Mexico due to play their opening match of the tournament against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca, but their country's key game of the tournament will be against Czechia) due to the expensive price, even though that the tickets for these matches are like a luxury price, meaning that they are forced to watch it at a fan zone (Compared to when they hosted their own tournament twice in both 1970 & 1986 (And this year's tournament has claimed by America whose focusing on as the main co-hosts of the tournament), but both the Mexicans & Canadians would even be friendly people to an extent, compared to the Americans who are hostile towards foreigners saying that they want them out of that country if people who are gringos, étrangers, auslaender, or gaikokujin, are likely to be arrested for that certain crimes as Dad who alluded to me before on May 10th during our Mother's Day lunch at Rutland, despite the fact that I'm looking forward of watching the matches on TV due next month in which the whole world will not turn up, mainly due to the boycott about not visiting America, as a result of that dreadful American leader's anti-outsiders policy that already tightened its legislation on people who have foreign faces or even look foreign to them (Along with Denmark with their left wing liberal party that kept foreigners out of the country), just like Nigel Farage's political party called Reform UK (A right wing populist & far-right political party that is UK's fastest growing political party that will combat immigration, then the economy, as well as the National Health Service, & others) winning the local UK elections in which they have got an historic shift in politics that both Labour & the Conservatives have been declining after suffering these losses indeed), or from their homes.

And secondly that I have not been watching the ice hockey lately because of me being used to watching it (Especially with Rejean when he & Aunty Tan were here watching it on ESPN in December last year) because of the playoffs, especially the Canadiens (Who beat the Lightning in the 1st phase of the playoffs) are playing the Sabres in the Eastern Conference semi (And being at that fan zone outside the stadium watching would have to pay per view compared to us watching the rugby on Sky, is free here in New Zealand if they're unable to catch a game).

And thirdly in gaming that Dad showed me to share stuff such as the EA Sports Rugby game is on its way when he bought it, even though I paid it for the game as well as the postage & handling, but my birthday present from him will be the physical copy of the Project Motor Racing PS5 game (And I already got the digital version of it as well), even if it's available or it's not that I'll be getting the money for it (And my 35th birthday is due on June 7th, 2 days after Dad & 3 days before Aunty Tan, so we're having our joint birthday lunch at Thai Villa on that fateful day, but I always say "There he be", thinking that I'm like the late William Shakespeare as Aunty Tan (Who me & Pops have not seen her along with Rejean for 128 days as of May 10th this Mother's Day) once told me about it, just like I always say later, later on, or later then instead of see ya, goodbye or bye). 

And lastly some rugby news straight out of Super Rugby Pacific that the Crusaders remain unbeaten in their fortress at Te Kaha Stadium in Christchurch with a 16 point win over the Blues (Who lost Dalton Papali'i (Who'll join a French club after this season) early in the process due to him being injured again), then the Chiefs who had a superb victory over the Queensland Reds whose chances of victory proved costly in Brisbane (Which hosted Magic Round in the NRL where the Warriors (Who brought back Mitch Barnett who returns from injury with Origin calling just around the corner, but they lost halfback Tanah Boyd for the rest of the season with that certain injury during that game) were able to manhandle the defending premiers the Broncos (Who were without their key players of Payne Haas through injury, & Kotoni Staggs who is suspended for this game) on their home patch at Lang Park just to silence the pro-Broncos crowd who were cheering them on just like the home crowd at Hindmarsh Stadium were silent when Auckland FC won as we marched on through to the final of the A-League, but the Wahs are still trailing behind the top of the table Panthers in terms of the standings), mainly due to the controversial decisions being made by a 2nd year sophomore New Zealand referee of Marcus Playle & his team of officials who had been given a hostile reception by the Reds crowd themselves after the game, as Playle (Who had a refereeing blunder on that occasion as he had butchered it anyway) did not endear himself to the Lang Park crowd on Friday night following the Reds 10 point defeat against the Chiefs for which had been controversial (Including when fans - & players were infuriated on the stroke of half-time when Playle deemed Seru Uru to have been held up, in which he had adjudged to have scored a try himself (Dreadful, absolutely dreadful isn't it? But it had been confirmed the TMO viewed all available angles of the play while reviewing the on-field decision as the television match official identified evidence the ball had been grounded however couldn't find clear & obvious evidence the ball was grounded on or over the try line, that would be necessary to overturn the on-field decision), but there were other controversial refereeing decisions that the Queensland Reds fans did not please, such as Tupou Vaa'i won himself a turnover (Including one of the Queensland Reds player who thought that he wasn't isolated), but he was adjudged to be having been thought that Vaa'i had left his feet, as well as he got cleaned out by a Reds player as there was obviously but clearly a ruck or breakdown I should say being formed where the Queensland Reds crowd who had been aghast as they were getting impatient, then a sin binning offence being handed out against Jeffry To'omaga-Allen for being offside that really upset the home fanatics who were most displeased (And I don't think they're pleased at the moment, oh my word) about it for which the ref's decision to send To'omaga-Allen to the sin bin was a bit tough, moments before Chiefs reserve hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho who came on for Tyrone Thompson had scored his 2nd try, & of course Chiefs skipper Luke Jacobson who thought he was killing the ball should've been penalised first (Well, the first violation is for going off feet (And it was all perfectly fine when Jacobson made that slightly big tackle on Carter Gordon, before the ref didn't see the first offence when the Chiefs captain sealed the ball off, but he rather saw the 2nd offence when Reds centre Josh Flook had been caught for coming in from the side as the Reds were on the wrong end of a 12 - 5 penalty count, oh lord (And the controversy extended well past that), according to the comment from Stan Sport rugby commentator 'Morgs' Turinui (Who also said that "It's a penalty to the Reds") that I literally remember for that the match could've gone either way, but no doubt that Jacobson was going over the top! It's unbelievable that's been missed), in which Playle (Who had been in charge as the referee for the 8th time in Super Rugby Pacific) has had a shocker when he mistakenly awarded the penalty against the Queensland Reds for joining ruck incorrectly (And it's a penalty! But, he's killed the game. Wrong, wrong, it's wrong, the Aussie rugby fans have calmed down a bit, they were absolutely livid, he's killed the game for them), moments prior to Wallace 'Wally' Sititi who scored that try again after he was peeling off the back of the scrum for that really was the ball game (Including the Reds should've been awarded the penalty for a tackle off the ball that was deemed to be a harsh call, against Jacobson who could've got away by being penalised again, this time on Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson (Who is due to become a dad when his wife Renee announced that she was pregnant meaning that a baby is on the way), in which the home team's aficionados were getting restless when they also were in shambles, as they were being frustrated about that certain decision that left themselves off the hook, especially the crowd at Lang Park were unhappy chappies, oh shameless! Maybe that's a slap on the wrist for that. It is such a rip off, it's a shameless ripoff...That's terrible, but you know...I, oh god, I hope they get sued (It's a neat win by the Chiefs, but I'd rather watch the fog final from 20 years ago back in 2006 between the Crusaders & the Hurricanes in another one of these strangest Super Rugby matches ever, going through the fog while the fans hardly see the action coming from the grandstands, in one of the craziest but infamous rugby games to take place in history) that had surely won for the Chiefs in which the Queensland Reds supporters who were left fuming after these calls had been dubious (And volatile as well), meanwhile Marcus Playle (Who had been blamed by the Reds fans who had put him off throughout every time he makes a poor decision) should never referee a Super Rugby Pacific match again, that is disgraceful! (And even the Queensland Reds coach of Les Kiss is not happy, because he is livid at the moment following a certain defeat like that in which the home team had a wretched night at Lang Park (And I mean, that is a disgrace for Super Rugby Pacific, but they'll be serious ramifications, obviously they'll be thousands of Reds fans who are getting pretty filthy), for what was to be the strangest Super Rugby Pacific match ever since the 2023 final between the Chiefs, & the Crusaders in Hamilton (And what was the reaction from the crowd? Well, they're stunned, stunned silence), while Playle's poor but woeful officiating of that match reminds me of Paddy O'Brien, & that infamous so called 'Train wreck' that cost Fiji a certain chance of an upset win in that all important men's Rugby World Cup game against France (Who had produced the shocks of the tournament when they infamously defeated New Zealand in the semi, before the Brighton Miracle took over where Japan upstaged South Africa in one of the greatest upsets at the men's Rugby World Cup of all time back in 2015 (And there's Portugal beating the Fijians in one of the tournament's biggest shocks in 2023, but first there was Uruguay who stunned Fiji in the upsets of the tournament also back in 2019 (Same year that the hosts at the time of Japan who managed to top the pool with all 4 wins (Including both Ireland, & Scotland which were considered upsets) for the first time in history) way back in 1999), as well as the Highlanders who kept their playoff chances alive despite being playing with 14 players not once (Including captain Timoci Tavatavanawai who got sin binned for cynical play such as a professional foul, like a ruck violation, while for Jona Nareki (A winger usually who had started the game at centre for the first time) as he had been given a sin bin, & on report for high contact on a Tahs player named Jack Barrett, before it had been changed it to a 20 minute send off offence that the Highlanders (Who will be without Nareki for a week, along with the Crusaders player of Kurtis MacDonald who is gone for the season with a 4 week ban being handed out by the judiciary, for dangerous play during the Crusaders-Blues clash), especially Jamie Joseph were baffled about the 2 decisions), but twice with a close win over the New South Wales Waratahs featuring that young player who played for the Australia under 20s of winger Sid Harvey who had to snatch a losing bonus by being within less than 7 in Dunedin, & the Hurricanes (Who are without Cam Roigard whose regular season is over with an ankle injury that keeps him out of 3 to 4 weeks, including the first round of the playoffs (And even the best rugby player in the world of Antoine Dupont is smelling blood of sending the French into a frenzy of defeating the AB's, especially with their playbook as part of the defending Six Nations champions France's game plan of winning against them in Christchurch) send their statement of remaining on top of the table following their comprehensive hiding against Moana Pasifika in Auckland with winger Josh Moorby (Well, is he in the frame for AB's selection under coach Dave Rennie, along with Highlander Caleb Tangitau? We'll see) providing the heroics, as he scored 4 tries in a match that made him his standout player of the game honours.

And here are the list of matches taking place in round 13 of this year's Super Rugby Pacific competition

Chiefs Vs Highlanders: FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton (Their most recent meeting between the two was in round 2 earlier this year, where the Chiefs secure their eighth straight win over the Highlanders, led by a brace from Samisoni Taukei'aho in the tightest of all matches which was held at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin)

Fijian Drua Vs New South Wales Waratahs: HFC Bank Stadium, Suva (Their last meeting between the two was on February 20th this year during the 2nd round of the Super Rugby Pacific competition, where the New South Wales Waratahs defeated the Fijian Drua 36 – 13, at Allianz Stadium in Sydney as Max Jorgensen was the standout performer, scoring a double to secure the home victory)

Blues Vs Hurricanes: Eden Park, Auckland (The last time both of these sides met was on April 11, this year (Which was during Round 9 of the Super Rugby Pacific season) in Wellington, where the Hurricanes crushed the Blues by 42 points to 19)

& Western Force Vs Reds: HBF Park, Perth (The last time they clashed was during Round 8 of the Super Rugby Pacific championship this year where the Western Force defeated the Queensland Reds 42-19 (Including a hat-trick from Argentinian lock Franco Molina) in their last meeting on April 4, 2026, at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane meaning that the Western Force's season got back on track)

Bye: ACT Brumbies, Crusaders & Moana Pasifika

So that is my 724th blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 76th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Raspberry Beret: My 75th Blog of the year 2026

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first that I was rewatching an old Super Rugby game from 2008 during the Super 14 era between the Crusaders & the Blues at the old Lancaster Park in Christchurch in anticipation of the match between the 2 sides at Te Kaha Stadium on May 8th, but I only watched the first half of it & didn't see the rest of the 2nd half thinking that the Crusaders actually won that match themselves.

And secondly I had an eventful day such as gaming first where I played my fave video & computer game of all time along with both Star Wars Battlefront II 2005 & Grand Theft Auto IV of Gran Turismo 7 on the PS5, but with remote play before I had breakfast then after that as I took photos of the doves & the sparrows altogether on my phone that I have yet to share it on Facebook, before I played GTA IV on Xbox 360 via backwards compatibility on my Xbox Series X console before I had my shower, then listened to Brian FM as well as us chatting to Aunty Tan on the phone to say how she is at the moment, until we left home to go to Rutland Arms Inn for our mother's day celebration lunch with Dad's crew where I had pasta for example (The drink I had was Peroni Zero), then a brownie for dessert with a mochaccino, even before we left to go home where I enjoyed playing Formula One 2004 game on the PlayStation 2 (I played as Michael Schumacher (My favourite sporting idol growing up because mainly he is a GOAT (And he is out of the public eye since that concussion that he suffered in a ski crash back in 2013, but his update on his health & wellbeing could be heartbreaking as of 2019, or at least 2022), but I like the late Ayrton Senna as well as my other fave racing car driver who is undoubtedly, or if not, one of the original GOAT's of Formula One (And unfortunately that he tragically passed away in a serious fatal accident in Italy at the Imola circuit near Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region way back in 1994 for which was a disaster) on the Spanish, European & Japanese Grands Prix respectively where there is a grid configuration in the game as part of its custom race gameplay feature to manually recreate the previous grands prix in that season (And the grid configuration is featured in the GT7 game as part of its custom race option) that I'm enjoying the most (Along with 2006 FIFA World Cup, Rugby League 2, Cricket 07, Rugby 08, V8 Supercars 3 & SWBF 2 2005 as my other faves) along with Rugby 08 & Rugby 2004 games respectively before I watched CNN with the latest news reports circulated around the world, then we had a light dinner where Pops made a stir fry for us, & then back to watching CNN before writing my future blog that I'm going to post.

And thirdly that Iran will intend to attack American assets as part of its strategy during that dreadful American leader's war according to the CNN report that I saw on TV while the Americans are awaiting response to end that invasion when Tehran who warned Washington about its assaults on tankers & then the Israelis who caused the murder of 24 people in Lebanon due to escalation of assaults between the 2 countries, while the US President hasn't yet decided how to respond to some American allies denying use of the military bases for operations in the Iran war, as the United States struck both Iranian-flagged oil tankers on Friday accused of breaching the American blockade, following American & Iranian forces exchanged fire while renewed hostilities have broken out between Iran & the US, with each side claiming the other initiated assaults on military personnel, meanwhile a government official said that current Iranian supreme leader suffered knee & back injuries in the strike that assassinated his dad as the landlocked body of water has taken on new significance, with the country that started its dreadful invasion since 2022 shipping military & commercial goods to boost Tehran's ability, & also that Iran's foreign minister has had accusations about the Americans of opting for a reckless military adventure (And Aunty Tan once told me before that Air Canada flights will be called off in Canada due to the escalation surrounding the Iran war in terms of expensive fuel prices for cars, buses, & planes).

And finally that the hantavirus outbreak (For which is colloquially known as the Andes virus) has circulated on a cruise ship is bound for Spain as its empty & vapid when CDC finally responded to it, but experts say it's too little too late, while Kiwis on cruise with an outbreak have fears that they could be isolated upon return, as the WHO chief prepares for his arrival in Tenerife to oversee evacuation of a hantavirus cruise ship, meanwhile the Brits on virus-hit cruise ship had been asked to quarantine at hospital site for at least 42 days (That's about 6 weeks), compared to 14 days when they once had COVID & that pandemic that they are evoking memories of it (And what is my reaction to the Andes virus? Well, I'm stunned to hear about it that its like that had drawn parallels with that COVID pandemic that we once had from 2020, until 2023 for which is a throwback to it, even though that I'm an outspoken critic about the hantavirus now, but I fear that the Andes virus pandemic could get underway in 3 months time, despite that 79% actually think that its unlikely to happen (And that hantavirus stuff thing could end both that dreadful invasion since 2022 & the Iran wars respectively just like the Spanish flu took the first World War out of commission in 1918 when Germany ran out of men, food, & money, even before that pandemic lasted from February 1918 until April 1920 when the Germans were politically then financially unstable (Compared to Switzerland today that it is being by far, the most politically stable country in the world along with New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, & Japan, meanwhile Syria is currently the least politically stable country throughout) following 4 years of fighting which resulted in heavy losses, meaning that they can't spare anymore reinforcements), & the Americans? Well, they are expected to be evacuated from Hantavirus cruise ship as global health chief expected to travel to the area for which the epicentres of that virus stricken ship, has been treated like a war zone when the current situation has now been arisen.

So that is my 723rd blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 75th of this year, viva Ukraine.

Sonne: My 74th Blog of the year 2026 (AKA the history of the Football (Soccer) men's World Championship starting from 1994, right until 2022, & list of football (Soccer) playing countries competing in the group stages of the tournament)

Well, welcome to our readers here in New Zealand, & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning in to my KiwiAvenger blog here on blogger, but first in gaming that Dad has purchased the Formula One 04 PlayStation 2 game on Trade Me for me on the 3rd of May (And I haven't played it since I used to have PCSX2, but I no longer do it since I prefer the real thing, such as the real McCoy, & I had to pay it due to additional postage & handling as well as the game itself (And on May 3rd that I was playing Gran Turismo 7 (For which has always been an cracker that came out in 2022 thinking that it's the new 2005 & 2008 all over again where they released Star Wars Battlefront II (2005 version) & Grand Theft Auto IV respectively as the other decent bangers) throughout, in preparation of playing the Formula One 04 game such as racing the Super Formula SF23 car once (A modern day single seater race car that competes in Japan's premier racing series of Super Formula that's in place of the current F1 car) as well as both the Gran Turismo F3500-B once & F3500-A twice (Both inspired by Formula One open wheelers during the early 90's golden heyday halcyon period) respectively, at one of my fave F1 racing tracks that is Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which is home of the annual Canadian Grand Prix (And Aunty Tan once told me that she's been to that circuit before along with Rejean when they walked throughout the venue themselves).

And secondly in music that the song from the American rock band Tantric, 'Breakdown', has seriously becoming one of my fave songs from the band itself (And it is a one-hit wonder anyway) since I first heard that song taken from the CART Champ Car movie of Driven starring Italian American film star Sylvester Stallone released way back in 2001 which was a disaster, compared to F1: the Movie (I've got it on Blu-ray already in my bedroom) also starring Hollywood A-lister Brad Pitt (Who appeared in the Delonghi coffee machine advert on TV lately) that came out last year for which was arguably top notch (And it was nominated for an Oscar this year), it's showtime (As Johnny Cage played by New Zealander Karl Urban (Who portrayed the role of both Eomer & John 'Reaper' Grimm in the Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers & the Return of the King as well as the Doom movies respectively) would say in the upcoming Mortal Kombat II movie due for release in May this year).

And thirdly in football (Soccer) that I will be doing my story about the history of the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup since I was born in 1991 starting from 1994 where Brazil won their unprecedented 4th Football (Soccer) men's World Cup after their penalty shoutout win against Italy (Well, I was too young to remember that at the time) who should've won that certain tournament, when Roberto Baggio missed that certain penalty shot during the shootout where the Brazilians, especially their football (soccer) team paid tribute to the country's most successful racing car driver who took his own life in a fatal crash during a Grand Prix race in Imola, Italy of the late great Ayrton Senna (Who was the last before the late Jules Bianchi back in 2015 (Same year that Justin Wilson had been tragically killed which triggered the introduction of the aero screen in 2020 for extended cockpit head protection) a year after being also involved in a fatal accident during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix (That prompted Formula One to introduce the halo that is designed for head protection in the cockpit as well also back in 2018 in response to Bianchi's tragic passing, just like a wooden plank that help slow cars down being implemented (Just like in NASCAR where these stock cars are being fitted with restrictor plates at superspeedways in Atlanta, Daytona, & Talladega) in the aftermath of Senna's tragic death, then further enhanced safety changes at circuits were brought in such as the Tamburello & Villeneuve corners being replaced with chicanes at the Imola circuit in Italy as a response to the deaths of Senna, & the late Austrian driver of Roland Ratzenberger during qualifying a day before the race way back in 1994) according to the previous stories on my blogs, then in 1998 where the Brazilians (Who had one of their star player suffering epilepsy hours prior to kick-off) missed out on defending the crown against the hosts at the time of France who produced a sheer brilliance from one of the relatively unknowns also at the time of Zinedine Zidane who scored 2 goals in the final which was marred by the sending off from Marcel Desailly (Who was the 3rd after both Argentinians of Pedro Monzon & Gustavo Dezotti in 1990 when West Germany won) by the Moroccan referee in which Didier Deschamps was the first Frenchman to lift the trophy aloft, before in 2002 that Brazil won their 5th & most recent World Cup to date, against Germany with their star player Ronaldo (Not Cristiano himself, the Brazilian one) producing a bit of magic as he scored a brace (And it was Cafu who was the last Brazilian to lift the trophy) in his comeback from a serious injury sustained in a Coppa Italia final in 2000-01 where he thought that his career was going to end when he returned from a previous injury when he suffered a debilitating, complete rupture of his right knee patellar tendon against Lazio, as his final lasted 6 minutes prior to his knee being blown up (And then he returned to full fitness when the Brazilians triumphed), then in 2006 (Which was 20 years ago) that the Italians managed to win on penalties against the French who played with 10 players after the French captain had been shown the red card due to that one particular incident that he claimed that he headbutted an Italian player who exchanged insults with each other was at fault according to the previous stories on my blogs (And William Gallas said that he would've taken the penalty first during the shootout after Zidane (Who was the 4th after Desailly to be given the marching orders, & 2nd Frenchman to do so) got sent off by the Argentinian referee, but he did not in fact according to one of his stories about his French teammate at the time of 'Zizou', & it could've been lucky if France won should Zinedine Zidane had not been sent off when at that moment when current Uzbekistan coach/manager Fabio Cannavaro who was the last Italian to hoist the trophy aloft) where it was indeed redemption 12 years in the making for Italy of winning the Football (Soccer) men's World Cup for the first time since 1982, meanwhile in 2010 that Spain were crowned champions for the first time when they beat the Netherlands (Who had Johnny Heitinga being the last man to be sent from the field in the World Cup final) with Andres Iniesta providing the heroics with a match winning goal at extra time (In which Iker Casillas at that moment, was the first & only Spanish captain to lift the World Cup trophy, 2 years after they would win Euro 2008, & 2 years before they even retained the Euros at Euro 2012, the last time the Spanish would win the European Football Championship (Before that it was Portugal at Euro 2016, then Italy at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament that was held in 2021), until Euro 2024 where they became the most successful in Europe after their win in the final against England in Berlin, Germany which was by far Spain's finest performances to date, in recent memory), despite being cautioned for taking his jersey off whilst celebrating his goal, just like Mario Götze did for Germany when they beat Argentina (Led by Lionel Messi who was in his first final which was an unsuccessful one where they had the wrong picture) back in 2014 that he provided the heroics inspired by Iniesta (In that moment, as Philipp Lahm was the last German to lift the trophy as he was the first since Lothar Matthaeus way back in 1990, & the first time they have won a World Cup since reunification when the Berlin wall had been collapsed then (As well as their first major football (Soccer) tournament victory since Euro 96), as well as 4 years later in 2018 (That is 2 years before COVID came along in March 2020 with the pandemic that lasted for 3 years & 2 months where it finished formally in May 2023) that France (Who were in their first World Cup final since 2006) managed to end 20 years of hurt when they beat first time finalists Croatia led by star talisman Luka Modric who had been awarded player of the tournament by 2 goals in that epic final (It was Hugo Lloris who became the 2nd French skipper, & the first since Deschamps way back in 1998 to hoist the trophy aloft in France's first major football (Soccer) tournament victory in 18 years (The last time they did before that was Euro 2000 where they beat Italy who thought they won when they were in the lead, until the French equalized to force it into extra time before scoring the golden goal by one of their players of David Trezeguet that triumphed them to glory since 1984 at home), & finally in 2022, that France (Who were also in the final again as they became the first defending champions at the time since Brazil way back in 1998, but it wasn't to be) had denied their chance of retaining their crown in which they fell short on spot kicks against the Argentinians led by Messi (The first man to hoist the World Cup trophy from his country since the late great Diego Armando Maradona way back in 1986 who had a blinder in which he scored 2 goals & then, being awarded the player of the final honours for his outstanding performance on the field (And it was rival player Kylian Mbappe who was the first man to score a hat-trick of goals in a World Cup final (And also was the 2nd ever teenage goal scorer in the final back in 2018, since the late Brazilian GOAT of Pele himself) since Geoff Hurst who was the first in 1966 for England against West Germany, but it wasn't to be when they manage to fall short at the end) in what was Messi's 2nd final appearance, for that really was a success where they had the right picture on that occasion, in which the 2022 final as best described as the match that made Lionel Messi) who ended a 36 year hoodoo of winning the tournament altogether, in one of the greatest Football (Soccer) men's World Cup finals of all time (Compared to the 2019 men's ODI Cricket World Cup final which was considered the greatest men's ODI Cricket World Cup finals in history where England led by Irish born player Eoin Morgan, won the tournament for the first time in history where it was virtually decided by a super over in which our Black Caps had fallen short in the end, as well in the rugby where the 1995 men's Rugby World Cup final was considered the greatest men's Rugby World Cup finals of all time (I thought it was 2015, but I'd like to take that back) where the Springboks had to win that thriller at extra time, against the All Blacks with a match winning field goal provided by Joel Stransky that united the host country, as well as their late leader of South African president at the time Nelson Mandela, according to the previous blogs that I did (Other contenders were the 2003 (Where England had to do it at extra time with a winning drop goal scored by Jonny Wilkinson against the hosts, & reigning champions at the time of the Wallabies) & 2023 finals (Where South Africa had a narrow win by a single point against New Zealand who were down to 14 players as the Boks would gone on to successfully defend the title in which they became the 2nd side to do so after the AB's back in 2015) even though we lost in the final where we could've regained the men's RWC that we must've inflicted the scars of '95 (A year before we finally won a rugby test series against South Africa on South African soil 2 - 1 following numerous attempts that have failed us before that way back in 1996, but it'll return this year in a highly anticipated 'Rugby's Greatest Rivalry' 4 match test series between the 2 main rivals in international rugby of both the Boks, & the All Blacks (Just like Argentina & Brazil in world football (Soccer), then Germany against the Netherlands as well as England Vs Scotland, & Mexico & the United States, meanwhile it is India against Pakistan in cricket (But the oldest cricket rivalry of them all would have to be Australia Vs England where it all started in 1882 when English cricket was dead after shockingly losing to the Aussies by 7 runs in a cricket match at the Oval in London where English cricket had been dead & buried, then the body would be cremated & the Ashes to be taken on Aussie soil), & also in the league such as Australia & New Zealand), as a replacement for the Rugby Championship scheduled to take a 1 year hiatus) just like in 2023, & last but not least, the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix that was widely regarded as the greatest Formula One Grand Prix races of all time where rain had been delayed for 4 hours, but only one man who stood out that is British driver Jenson Button (The world champion from 2009) of McLaren that he raced at the time who would gone on to win the rain sodden Grand Prix after starting 21st on the grid (Other contenders were the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix where Lewis Hamilton (The late Sir Bobby Charlton, Jonny Wilkinson, the late Sir Jack Hobbs, & Shaun Edwards of British motor racing) who had to pass German Timo Glock on the final lap of the race just to beat Brazilian Felipe Massa for the World Championship (And it just had to be), & the 1993 European Grand Prix where "The lap of the gods" had struck when the late Brazilian hero of Ayrton Senna who overtook 4 other cars (Including Austrian Karl Wendlinger, then both future world champions of German Michael Schumacher & British driver Damon Hill (Son of the late Graeme the former world champ himself), & then the eventual champion Alain Prost) after starting 5th on the grid during the miserable conditions, & gone on to win that certain Grand Prix race) out of the 24 runners), but here is the preview of the 2026 tournament altogether featuring the 48 different competing countries who are placed in their respective groups (While 26 different football (Soccer) playing nations will return from the previous tournament in 2022 (Like Argentina (The 3 time winners from 1978, 1986, & at the last but most recent one in 2022 where they'll defend their crown), Australia (Their best result was from the round of 16 in both the 2006 & 2022 tournaments respectively), Belgium (Where they finished 3rd in the 2018 tournament as their best result of the World Championship), Brazil (The last time the Brazilians tasted success was in 2002 after previously winning the 1958, 1962, 1970, & 1994 tournaments throughout altogether), Canada (Co-hosts of this year's tournament), Croatia (Their best result was 2nd, in which they were defeated against the eventual champions of the French back in 2018), Ecuador, England (Who haven't won in 60 years where they last lifted the trophy on home soil in 1966), France (The twice world champions from way back in 1998, & back in 2018 who'll be seeking to regain the World Championship after falling short on penalties against the Argentinians themselves in 2022), Germany (Who last lifted the trophy in 2014 after previously becoming the world champions in 1954, 1974, & 1990), Ghana, IR Iran, Japan (Their best result was the Round of 16 4 times in which they have never reached beyond them through to the quarters (That was back in 2002 when they co-hosted it with South Korea in that they were beaten against Turkey, then Paraguay also back in 2010, followed by Belgium back in 2018 in one of the greatest comebacks of all time ever, in the history of the World Championship, & against the Croatians on spot kicks last time out in the 2022 tournament), Korea Republic (Also their best result in which they finished 4th where they lost to the Turkish during the 3rd/4th place playoff when they co-hosted the World Championship along with the Japanese), Mexico (Another one of the co-hosts of this year's tournament whose best result for them was in the quarters when they hosted the tournament twice in both 1970, & way back in 1986), Morocco (The surprise package of the last tournament in 2022 as they reached the semis which was their best result altogether (They finished 4th when they lost against Croatia) who had been were declared the champions of AFCON in the aftermath of the Senegalese getting DQ'd), the Netherlands (Their best result was runners up long ago in 1978 where they were defeated against hosts at the time of Argentina, then in 2010 against Spain), Portugal (Who finished 3rd in 1966 where they beat a Soviet Union team during the 3rd & 4th place playoff), Qatar (Previous hosts of the 2022 tournament who had to take part in the Asia qualifiers to qualify for the World Championship), Saudi Arabia, Senegal (Who thought that they've won the AFCON title, but they were later stripped for intentionally walking off the field following a penalty decision that delayed the game for 20 to 30 minutes), Spain (The 4 time Euro champions who are the title favourites of that competition after going into the campaign 31 games unbeaten where they're seeking to emulate their one & only success back in 2010), Switzerland (Who regularly appear at the tournament since 2006), Tunisia, Uruguay (The two time world champions who triumphed at the inaugural tournament in 1930, then 1950 when it was back on 5 years after the end of World War II, & they haven't won the entire World Championship since), & USA (One of 3 Co-hosts of the tournament with their best result coming in at the historic first ever World Championship in 1930 with 3rd place), compared to 4 are back from 2018 (Colombia, Egypt, Panama, & Sweden), then 3 have returned from the 2014 tournament (Algeria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, & Cote D'Ivoire), meanwhile 3 are back from 2010 (New Zealand, Paraguay, & South Africa), also then only one from 2006 (Czechia (Who once competed under the name of the Czech Republic), & 2002 (Türkiye (In which they competed under the name Turkey), then 3 return from 1998 (Austria, Norway, & Scotland), as well as just one from 1986 (Iraq), & both from 1974 (Democratic Republic of Congo (They were competing under the name Zaire), & Haiti), + 4 will make their tournament debut such as Cabo Verde, Curacao, Jordan, & Uzbekistan, while for the 3rd World Championship in a row where the 7 champions of 1 current (The Argentinians) & 6 former (The Brazilians, then the English, France, the Germans, the Spanish, & the Uruguayans) will line up in this years tournament), so here it is:

Group A

Mexico (Co-hosts)

South Africa

Korea Republic

Czechia

Group B

Canada (Co-hosts)

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Qatar

Switzerland

Group C

Brazil

Morocco

Haiti

Scotland

Group D

USA (Co-hosts)

Paraguay

Australia

Türkiye

Group E

Germany

Curacao

Cote D'Ivoire

Ecuador

Group F

The Netherlands

Japan

Sweden

Tunisia

Group G

Belgium

Egypt

IR Iran

New Zealand

Group H

Spain

Cabo Verde

Saudi Arabia

Uruguay

Group I

France

Senegal

Iraq

Norway

Group J

Argentina (Defending champions)

Algeria

Austria

Jordan

Group K

Portugal

DR Congo

Uzbekistan

Colombia

& Group L

England

Croatia

Ghana

Panama

And lastly the latest in the rugby, especially the latest Super Rugby Pacific report as the Hurricanes manage to survive against the Crusaders who managed to get an defensive bonus point for losing by 7 points or less at Hnry Stadium in Wellington (The stadium that both Dad & Raewyn had been to as they saw a NRL league game between the New Zealand Warriors (Who had beaten the Paramatta Eels lately in Sydney according to one of Dad's comments that I heard on the 3rd of May, even though we're 2nd on the table, & are trailing behind the table topping Penrith Panthers before the Wahs take the bye in round 10 of the competition), & the Dolphins) for that really was a cracker, then the Western Force pull off a stunning win against the New South Wales Waratahs in a close game in Sydney before a day later that the Highlanders fell short against the Fijian Drua who kept their chances of making the playoffs alive in Ba therefore ending the Landers quest of making the post-season, as well as their aspirations of reaching the playoffs, is going to take a hit since the Drua were too hard at home for the Highlanders who have their chances of sneaking into the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs have been dealt another blow, as well as the Blues thrash Moana Pasifika in their final ever battle of Auckland at North Harbour Stadium in Albany (And I mean what a game that was, but there was a try to Moana with Mills Sanerivi scoring after taking a tap & go, then they must've passed it to a player who was lifted like a lineout maul which has drawn inspiration from the Springboks as well as their coach Rassie Erasmus, & the Paul Roos Gimnasium schoolboy rugby first XV in South Africa at least with their trick play known as a midfield lineout, with assistant coach Tom Coventry who called the shots), & last but not least, the Queensland Reds were able to pull off a textbook victory over the ACT Brumbies who should've lost by less than 7 just like the Crusaders did, even if they had got the bonus point in Brisbane.

And here are the list of matches taking place in round 13 of this year's Super Rugby Pacific competition

Crusaders Vs Blues: Te Kaha Stadium, Christchurch

Queensland Reds Vs Chiefs: Lang Park, Brisbane

Highlanders Vs New South Wales Waratahs: Dunedin Stadium, Dunedin

Moana Pasifika Vs Hurricanes: North Harbour Stadium, Albany

& ACT Brumbies Vs Western Force: Canberra Stadium, Canberra

Bye: Fijian Drua

So that is my 722nd blog of the year 2026 (MMXXVI) & my 74th of this year, viva Ukraine.